Impacts of Plastic Disposal
The harms of plastic do not cease once it is created; in fact, they have only just begun.
Scientists at the Bren Environmental Science and Management School at the University of California at Santa Barbara have estimated that 8300 Mt (mega ton = 1 million metric tons) of virgin plastics were produced between 1950 to 2015, but 6300 Mt of them had become plastic waste that has accumulated in landfills or the natural environment such as the waterways and the ocean.
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Where are they going to end up?
Trash in the Environment
Litter impacts wildlife, water quality, and human health
Approximately 317,937.5 kilotons of plastic products were consumed worldwide in 2021. This is predicted to rise by nearly 2.4% by 2028.
We do not have the waste management systems in place to deal with all this plastic
Only 9% of the total amount of plastic manufactured has been recycled. The vast majority, 91% is accumulating in landfills, being incinerated, or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter
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The Monterrey Bay Aquarium estimates, about 300,000 lbs., or the equivalent weight of a blue whale, enters the ocean every 9 minutes
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It is estimated that the amount of plastic entering the marine environment will triple by 2040
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Microplastics are Forever
Plastic doesn't degrade, it just gets smaller and smaller
Plastic in the environment will eventually break down into microplastics, which are pieces 5 mm and smaller.
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Microplastics in waterways and oceans are a great concern, as they can be consumed by organisms like fish and shellfish, and then subsequently move up the food chain and wind up in humans (the process of bioaccumulation) with negative consequences for both the ecosystem and human health.
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They are also of great concern because they are extremely difficult to remove from the environment, meaning microplastics really can be a forever pollutant.
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Without large-scale interventions, plastics, both macro, and micro, are set to continue to pollute our oceans and our freshwater supplies. This will have negative impacts on the environment, wildlife, and eventually on humans.
We must look to stem the tide of plastic lest we risk global environmental destruction.